Get er done - it's your present!

Have you ever noticed how a lot of what you deal with on a daily basis is actually old stuff? You find yourself continually distracted by the old or unfinished projects and tasks. And they can really zap the life out of you. For instance:
• The rising stack of magazines you ordered, but never have time to read?
• The healthy eating plan you started but by now the healthy food is rotting in the fridge, the cans of black beans are way past their expiration date and you’re back to living on cookies and cereal?
• The bathroom remodel that still needs the lighting fixtures installed?
• The too big/too small/those might come back in style clothes stuffed in your closet that you have to fight through every morning?
• Tax returns from the 90’s that still need to be filed?

And how about the birthday/wedding/baby gift you still haven’t bought and sent? The lunch and networking date you were going to make? The doctor’s appointment?
You get the point. All these things literally tie you to the past. And when you’re tied to the past, it’s the past - not what you want now – that is controlling your actions today.

For example, do you scurry past the guest bedroom packed with boxes you never unpacked from your move 6 years ago? Do you get depressed when you look at your action list from a week ago and realize that the same things just keep resurfacing – little irritants that distract and drain you?

Not only do you have to deal with your day to day events, but you’re strapped with a back pack full of yesterday’s leftovers. And every day that you allow more and more to accumulate, it gets heavier and heavier.
Today’s “shape your life moment” is this – take one small step to commit to finishing what you start.

And, as always, it’s just 3 simple steps:

1. Make a new commitment that any new thing you start will be completely finished – one way or another. You will either do it yourself, delegate it to someone else, or dump it off the list.

2. Start to clean up FULLY -- anything that happened in the past that still nags at you. Be patient, but persistent. Take time to carefully consider things in your own life. It’s easy to identify them – they usually make you feel negative in some way when you think about them (mad, sad, angry, guilty, embarrassed).

3. Get help if you need it! Don’t be proud and don’t just let it keep dragging you down! Ask for what you need from others, or hire a coach. Define exactly what it is you need and get their support in a concrete way. Just say no if responsibilities and commitments are stealing your time and your joy.

When you are living in the present and looking forward with expectation to the future, you don’t miss out on opportunities. When you’re distracted or brooding over the past, you tend to be blind to what’s happening in your life and miss out on future potentials. Who do you want to be?